Elder Sime

We are just doing so great. I love Teocuitatlan and we are doing well. We talk to all of the people. Its a tiny little town so everyone is getting to know us. It’s really fun. We set goals everyday to talk to a certain amount of people and we have been doing well. As we have contacted more we have found lots of people to teach. It has been a blessing.

I am really enjoying being with my companion and he is helping me become a better missionary. I prayed for him to be my companion by name because I knew I needed what he has. I love the Lord and I know that he knows us personally and answers prayers.

This week we got to go on some exchanges with some of the Elders in our zone. I got to work with Elder Cruz from Colombia. He has 8 months in the mission and is really a great missionary. I learned a ton from him and he really isn’t a new missionary anymore. It was a fun experience and I liked talking with him.

This week is gonna move by quick. We have mission council tomorrow and that is so exciting. It is my favorite meeting as a missionary and I’m thankful for the opportunity. We will learn a lot and I’m really excited to learn.

It has been really rainy and nice in our area. The only problem is that we have a solar water heater so we have had some chilly showers in some chilly weather and that just is not a fun experience to throw your body into such devastating water.

Other than that things are fantastic. We have been eating super well. My comp is a monster cook and the food from the Dominican Republic is just something else.

I’m just happy and thankful. I feel everyday the importance of this work and there is always something that strengthens my testimony. Heavenly Father loves us so much and is always blessing us with his tender mercies. I learned a little something that I like a lot from a Bednar talk.

“But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Ne. 1:20).

To be or to become chosen is not an exclusive status conferred upon us. Rather, you and I ultimately determine if we are chosen. Please now note the use of the word chosen in the following verses from the Doctrine and Covenants:

“Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

“Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men” (D&C 121:34–35; emphasis added).

I love this. You and I determine if we are chosen. We determine if we want tender mercies from the Lord. We all want them because they are so great.
This mission is a tender mercy from the Lord and every day I am blessed with little tender mercies that make it that much sweeter to be here. I love you all have a good week!!!
Elder Cluff

Its been a fantastic week. Im still happier than I have ever been and that is good news. I am definitely in the best part of my missionand I’m doing great.

This week we were barely in our area. We had divisions with the assistents and it is just a real deal to get all the way to their area and back to ours. It was really fun and I learned a lot from some great Elders.

We had a little bit of time to work in our area and we got some good stuff done. We finally met our recent converts husband and he was excited. We taught him the restoration of the gospel and he liked it. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted because he wants to be sealed to his wife. She has been a great missionary and taught him tons of little things to spark his interest.

We had a good week. I don’t have a lot of time, and there isn’t a lot to say either, but my companion is a great missionary. We are learning a ton together andI’m glad to be with him.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that if we read it everyday we will be able to overcome temptation and make the best decisions. I love the Prophet Joseph Smith and I’m so thankful for him. I know that Jesus Chirst guides this church and that He died for each one of us. I love you all and I hope you have a great week.

Hola!
This week has been a good one with my new companion. We have worked hard in the little time we have had. This week we had Zone Conference. I love that meeting. We talked a lot about the basics in missionary work. It’s a good reminder because a lot of times we are trying to be better missionaries but we want to do it in some type of complicated way when really all we need to do is go back to the basics. It was a great reminder.
Sister Clayton talked about the importance of a good morning study. It kind of sets the tone for the whole day. But even more important than that, it gives us a desire to keep the commandments, and as missionaries it fires us up to share the gospel. It was a great conference. My companion and I taught almost the same thing and it was a great teaching. My companion and I teach really well together and the spirit was present.
Yesterday was probably my favorite day of the week. We went to church and spoke. That was fun, we ate lunch and then had companionship study. That was great too. Then we went to work. We only had one set appointment. When we got there Guadalupe was not there…. but right when we showed up, we noticed a lady carrying big buckets of water. We went up and started to help her. We took like 6 buckets of water to her house and then started to talk with her a little. We taught her The Plan of Salvation. It was a great lesson and she was really prepared to hear what we had to say. It was such a great experience. Heavenly Father knows where we are. We didn’t show up for our appointment in vain. Heavenly Father knew what was going to happen and we were there to meet Leticia. It was a great blessing and a testimony builder.
Later that night when didn’t have anything going on so we just contacted the rest of the night. We got to the house like 20 minutes early but we weren’t about to go inside that early. So we made a plan to give away all of the materials we had with us.. 2 Books of Mormon, a bunch of pamphlets and like 20 contacting cards. It was so fun. We just went crazy in 20 minutes and we got to the house with nothing. It was such a good feeling.
This week we are going to be super busy again. I love it. I love being so busy. The only hard thing is we dont get any time in our area!!! It’s so in the middle of nowhere that we have to leave a day early if we want to be able to make it to things. That’s the only downside.
But we are doing great and we are going to keep working. My companion is fun to work with because we laugh and talk. It’s been a good week. I love you all and I’m thankful for all of the support!!! I love you! Have a good week.
Jack

Hola!
It has been a hot minute since I wrote home but here I am!! Things have been so great these last couple weeks. I got to spend Elder Moras last week with him and see him off. The best part was that we were able to baptize Sara!! It was so fun to finish his mission off with a baptism. Sara is the best and she is the first person that I have personally contacted who I have been able to baptize. It was such a miracle and a great experience.
The following day we received the news that President Monson had passed away. What a man. What a leader he was. He dedicated his life to serving everyone and never thinking about himself. From a very young age he understood what he needed to do and did it diligently until the day he died. What a great example. I know that Russell M Nelson will be a fantastic leader. He loves his calling and loves everyone. He will lead this church by revelation and example. He will be a great blessing to each of us.
We had a great mission council and I just long for the opportunities to listen to President Clayton. He is such a great man. I learned a lot and left very excited to do a better job as a zone leader and also received quite a few answers to how to do that. Its always such a spiritual meeting and a great experience.
We wrapped up the transfer this week and boy did we have changes. The whole zone almost had transfers. It was wild. My new companion is Elder Sime. He is from the Dominican Republic and has 14 months in the mish. He is a WORKER and I am pumped. A stereotype of Dominicans is that they are always just hyped up and excited bouncing of off the walls. It’s true.. This guy doesn’t run out of energy. Whats even funnier is when multiple Dominicans get together.. We have three in the zone and they just go nuts. Its really funny. Yesterday we were walking and all of the sudden this dude just starts honking like crazy. He swerves over and slams on the breaks and yells at us. I’m a little scared at this point, but my comp runs up to the car. I’m like “dude what are you doing we are supposed to run in the opposite direction”. He gets to the window and there is a Dominican in there. They are just pumped to see each other. They had never met ever but it looked like the same type of reunion that a Utah mother has with her son when he gets home from the mish. It was hilarious. But yeah anyways Im super excited to be with this guy and we are going to get some serious stuff done. Being with him is an answer to my prayers.
Those are the highlights.. I can’t handle how fast the time is passing. It’s pretty frightening. The mission is the best and gets better every transfer. It’s the biggest blessing I have had in my life. I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week.
Elder Cluff